Begging of the Moon
by chuckchuckchuck
Summary: B'Elanna realizes she forgot something very important and goes in search of a friend to offer support.  Im trying to learn to write with better descriptions and emotional content.   Read and review and let me know if it worked or didnt.


AN: I don't own anything Star Trek Voyager...blah blah blah. Please read and review.

B'Elanna sat quietly at her desk while she read through the latest engineering research journal, that had been given to her on a data PADD, at the previous night's conference. The information was complicated, tedious, and mind numbing. Normally, she was much more of a hands-on-learner, but the research contained in the report was fascinating. It promised to be the 'next big breakthrough' in propulsion technology and she felt fortunate to be included from the beginning.

Something about the report kept nagging at her mind, but she couldn't figure out what it was and it quickly consumed her thoughts. She scanned and rescanned the report, looking for the bit of information that had caught her attention. It soon became overwhelmingly frustrating - she wanted to break the data PADD into a thousand pieces.

Closing the report, she took a deep breath, but quickly reopened it after she realized the she hadn't felt the relief she had hoped for. That's when it hit her like a Romulan disruptor rifle. The date listed a the top of the report. It had been one year exactly since...

She tapped her friend's contact information into her computer and waited. Nothing.

She tried again. Still, nothing.

"Where is he?" B'Elanna huffed.

Getting up from her desk, she made her way to the kitchen where Tom sat eating his usual after-dinner-snack.

"What's going on B?" Tom crammed another chocolate cookie into his mouth.

"We are horrible friends." She stated simply. "I can't believe we forgot."

"Forgot what?" Tom put his last cookie down on the table, suddenly losing his appetite. He looked over at the digital calendar display on the far wall of the kitchen. "Oh."

"I can't get ahold of him. You haven't talk to him today have you?" Concern evident in her voice.

"I did actually. He called me." Tom ran his fingers over his balding head. "How could I be so stupid? He called, but I was preoccupied with Miral. She had just contacted me to tell me that she was coming over with the grandkids and I wasn't even thinking."

"Well, that's just great. Tom, I'm going over there. You wait here for Miral, she'll be here in early in the morning. I'll call you as soon as I've found him. I don't know how long I'll be gone." She didn't wait for a reply. Instead, she grabbed her jacket and rushed for the front door.

"B'Elanna?" Tom called after her.

She turned to face him, her eyebrows were scrunched together and her lips were pursed together - her usual mask in place trying to hide her emotions.

"Tell him..." Tom started to say.

"I will. I just hope that..." Her voice cracked - betraying her. Wanting to finish her thought, but not being able to, she put her hand up to her mouth and hurried out the front door.

/

As B'Elanna stepped out of the transporter station, the night air startled her. While it was crisp, it shouldn't have chilled her so deeply. Her guilt, sadness, and worry magnified the night's unpleasantness. She made her way down the damp streets of San Francisco, heading to where she knew her friend waited. She only hoped he would want to see her after her lapse of memory.

Coming to the end of a long street, the concrete gave way to grass. The dew was thick and her shoes quickly became soaked as she made her way deeper into the night.

B'Elanna checked her wrist chronometer and was shocked to see it was almost midnight. She had been walking for over an hour and her tired feet began to retaliate against her. Shaking off the desire to stop for a rest, she pushed on toward her friend in need.

B'Elanna managed to momentarily smile inwardly as she thought about the situation in which she now found herself. Here she was, traipsing through the streets of a huge city, in the middle of the night at the age of seventy. Tom would not be pleased with her right now. He was always reminding her that she wasn't as young and strong as she used to be, but she didn't care. She knew she could take care of herself if needed. What was on her mind, and concerned her now, was her even older friend who was alone and in need of his Voyager-family.

When B'Elanna got through a thick grove of trees, she stopped and looked up the hill that rose up before her. At the top of the hill, stood a lone figure, silhouetted by the light of the full moon. Her heart raced inside her chest. Forcing back the rising emotional tide, she started to climb the hill.

A few minutes later, B'Elanna stood a couple feet behind her friend. He remained motionless, his gaze was fixed on the moon above him. She could hear him speaking, but couldn't make out his words. She took a tentative step closer, wanting to offer comfort, but didn't want to interrupt him.

After a minute passed, she decided to speak. "Chakotay?"

He stopped speaking into the night air and sank to his knees - his cane fell to his side.

She rushed to his side.

"Chakotay, I'm so sorry I wasn't here earlier. How long have you been out here?" She wrapped her arms around him. "You're freezing."

At first, he said nothing - simply wiped the leaves from the modest gravestone with his arthritic hands. "I can't belieave she's been gone for an entire year. After all the medical advancement we have made over the years, how could someone still die from pneumonia? How?"

He turned to face her, his eyes bloodshot and wet with tears. B'Elanna, slowly rubbed her hand over his back, trying to comfort a man who clearly felt as if he had lost all that mattered to him.

"I loved her so much. She meant everything to me." He stopped and looked back at the gravestone. "We were married for thirty years, B'Elanna. But what I felt for her went deeper then a number. My feelings ran deeper then simply she being my wife, and I, her husband."

"I know, Chakotay."

"No. No, you don't know." His words came out with more fierceness then she had anticipated. "Her last words to me were, 'I'll see you on the other side of the moon.' What a thing to say, right?" Chakotay laughed bitterly and shook his head.

"What did she mean by that?"

"Over the years, she and I discussed our pasts and our families. My tribe believed that when someone died, they could wait for you on the other side of the moon. The surviving loved ones could talk to the moon and plead to join them." Chakotay rubbed his face with both hands trying to steady himself emotionally. "I've...I've spent every day since the night she passed, here at the top of this very hill. I beg, I pray, I meditate. I try whatever it takes to feel closer to her." He again paused and wiped the tears away, that now freely flowed down his cheeks. "I've been talking to the moon, B'Elanna! I've been begging whomever will listen to take me to her."

B'Elanna's heart broke. She simply wrapped her arms around her friend and cried. Soon their tears flowed together, their strained breaths and nearly silent sobs became as one.

She wasn't sure how long they were there at Kathryn's grave site, or how long the two of them cried together and exchanged fun, yet endearing stories of the one they both loved, but as the two of them made their way down the grassy hill, the sun's rays began to peek out from the horizon.

"Chakotay, I want you to come and live with Tom and me in our apartment. It's no good for you to be alone."

He looked at the sun peaking over the hill and his expression changed from one of deep sorrow, to one of contentment.

"That's very kind of you, B. But I don't think that will be necessary. The sun has answered my call."

"What? What do you mean?" B'Elanna's concern quickly grew.

Chakotay said nothing in response. He simply reached out and gave her a firm hug. While she held him, she felt his grip loosen, his body sagged and she lowered him to the ground.

"No, Chakotay! You are NOT leaving me! Come back to me. I'm not ready for you to go too. Not yet, please don't..." Tears poured down her face and her nose ran as she shook Chakotay's shoulders.

There was no response. He was gone. Chakotay was finally going to get what he has wanted every second of every day for the past year. He was with his beloved Kathryn, where that may be.

End Note: Please read and review. I'm trying to learn to write about emotion and thought I would give it a try.


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